10 Iconic Horror Artists to Soundtrack Halloween
As Halloween approaches, classic goth, post-punk and darkwave artists are the iconic muses to celebrate the spookiness and the horror this season embraces. Demons, ghouls and slasher babes everywhere need to compile a Halloween soundtrack full of horror references, chilling synths and tales of witches and vampires. From Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to The Cure, Unpublished compiled the ultimate horror-esque playlist with nightmarish flairs and a haunting energy that follows after the holiday is over.
The Cramps
Rip the dance floor through genre-blending elements of folk, punk and pop this Halloween. The Cramps revolutionized a new sound of rockabilly and established themselves as a standout, eccentric group in the 80s. The wonderfully outlandish, freaky and outrageously camp music truly comes from another planet that’s psychedelic and immersed in glitter and gore. Blending 50s rockabilly, contemporary punk and R&B, The Cramps were obsessed with early rock n’ roll and lowbrow culture of B-movie sexpoloitation movies, burlesque, pin-up dolls and serial killers. Their music is riddled with theatrical fun, topics of the occult and sheer tongue-in-cheek sense of macabre, most noticeably in “I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” “The Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon,” “Sheena’s in a Goth Gang” and “Like a Bad Girl Should.”
The Cure
The Cure frontman Robert Smith holds an unforgettable presence throughout the band’s career with his evocative, fantasy-like storytelling, interlaced with escapist elements that embody the spirit of the dark and the macabre. Whether it’s beautiful, horrible or sublime, Smith captures haunting emotions and ethereal melodies that hold the hearts of numerous generations. Disintegration remains a haunting record for hopeless romantics of all generations. The Cure stands out due to their gothic imagery, lyrics and Smith’s captivating style. “Siamese Twins,” “The Figurehead,” “Lovesong” and “Fascination Street” truly shine as staples within The Cure’s darkwave and alternative industrial discography.
Sisters of Mercy
The ultimate industrial groove machine of Sisters of Mercy is a force to be reckoned with. One of England's leading goth bands of the 1980s, the Sisters of Mercy play a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often incorporating dance beats; the one constant in the band's career has been deep-voiced singer Andrew Eldritch. Singing tales of dark worlds, lost loves and twisted eccentricity, Sisters of Mercy add a sense of moodiness and catchiness through the darkness, especially in songs, “Lucretia My Reflection,” “Black Planet” and “Never Land - A Fragment.”
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde flourished out of the LA post-punk club circuit in the late 80s and early 90s. Lead frontwoman Johnette Napolitano was rumored to have a vampire fetish which inspired a majority of her lyricism in Bloodletting. Concrete Blonde set the foundation for East Coast’s underground vampire rock. Bringing darkness to the mainstream, Concrete Blonde set a dark and romantic tone for their predecessors. With Napolitano on vocals and bass and former Sparks bassist James Mankey on guitar, plus a succession of drummers, Concrete Blonde cooked up a sweetly sulfurous blend of goth, punk and alternative rock, shot through with Napolitano’s knack for indelible hooks. “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song),” “The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden,” “Caroline” and “Days And Days” sets the perfect energy for any Halloween playlist or a trip through a haunted cemetery.
Twin Temple
Twin Temple invented their own genre of “Satanic doo-wop” and consist of duo Alexandra James and guitarist Zachary James. Combining cult aesthetics and classic 50s-inspired rock n’ roll, the pair dedicate their love songs to Lucifer in the standout track “Lucifer, My Love.” Instead of the classic “Hail Satan” mantras you might expect from the band, throughout their first album – Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound…. Satanic Doo-Wop) – the duo explore issues like social injustice, feminism and the beauty of independent thought within candlelit tales of Satanic romance, witchcraft and wedding-day hangings. Twin Temple doesn’t drink the blood of virgins or sacrifice animals on the full moon, instead they make killer music rejecting conformity of any kind, which is heard throughout standout tracks like “Satan’s a Woman,” “The Devil (Didn’t Make Me Do It)” and “I’m Wicked.”
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
The pioneer of goth music and the legendary song “I Put A Spell On You,” Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was the most outrageous performer as he used to emerge from coffins during live performances and held a flaming skull named Henry as his companion. The horror theatrics inspired the likes of Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. Hawkins screamed, grunted and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon. "I Put a Spell on You" became Screamin' Jay's most popular song. His larger than life persona and outlandish theatrics have made a reappearance every Halloween since his 1958 debut album At Home with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. The undeniable eccentricity is best heard in “I Put A Spell On You,” “Little Demon” and “Monkberry Moon Delight.”
Rob Zombie
The longtime frontman of industrial superstars, Rob Zombie invented Halloween to say the least. From his career in industrial metal band White Zombie, to his solo career and becoming director of his own successful campy and psychedelic horror movies, Zombie excels in balancing industrial metal, classic rock n’ roll, nostalgia and sexiness throughout his discography, but is best reflected in his 1998 debut album Hellbilly Deluxe. You name it, Zombie has probably written a song about it; from gruesome monsters, cannibals, UFOs and the dark underbelly of Americana, the frontmen has over three decades of horror legacy under his belt. The amusement park of ghosts, aliens and witches all make an appearance throughout Zombie’s discography. You can’t have a gruesome party without “Living Dead Girl” and “Superbeast” making an appearance to rattle listeners up and incite a mosh pit.
Horrorpops
Horrorpops are a Danish punk band that’s rooted in elements of psychobilly, rockabilly and punk rock, and held a strong presence in the mid 90s because of their undeniable star quality and theatrics during live shows. Frontwoman and bass player Patricia Day has a sharp and electrifying voice, making the songs come to life with a sound that gives listeners blasts into horror nostalgia and classic underground punk. Queue their classics “Walk Like A Zombie” and “Freaks In Uniforms” to get you bloodied up and ready for a rowdy Halloween party.
Dana Dentata
The industrial rap metal superstar Dana Dentata birthed her album Pantychrist into fruition as a sparkly and blood-splattered spectacle. With similar soundscapes and taunting vocals of Genitorturers and Plasmatics and the shock rock-esque horror of Rob Zombie, this album serves as a celebration towards the songstress’ artistic transformation to “angel energy only.” Dentata is moving from her once demon-loving, femme domme persona to now embracing angels, purity and healing of the womb. The metal songstress transcends listeners into a world of brutal feminine rage and heart wrenched sagas of spiritual healing. Exploring shock-rock theatrics, Dentata is often accompanied by demons on stage that represent her mental health struggles and abuse. “Church Hooker,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Flesh Prison” and “Manic Monday” add to the expansiveness of the horror-inspired and twisted world Dentata invites listeners into.
Miss Cherry Delight
The blood-soaked cannibal popstar Miss Cherry Delight creates a charming, yet equally macabre and gory stage presence, accompanied by a lethal, feminine force. When Miss Cherry Delight sings, she shouts. When she performs, it’s full of shock-rock antics that transports listeners back to the traditional roots of Alice Cooper-inspired rock; cramped with nudity, shredding vocals, blood-drenched clothes and grimy, running mascara. There’s something about Miss Cherry that is thrillingly shocking and nerve-rackingly radical with her feminist driven shock value and percussive poetry. Delve into the sexually charged and blood-splattered horror spectacle of shock rocker and New York-based artist Miss Cherry Delight. She prides herself as being a “theatrical cannibal” and “demented sweetheart”. Her shows are described as interlacing a world where visual aesthetics of Valentine’s Day and Halloween come together as one bloody “holiday orgy” that never ends. Released in Halloween 2018, the first song she ever wrote “Cherry Blood” is featured on the record which is evocative of the early stylings of Hole with its sludgy dissonance and heavy growls. In 2019, Miss Cherry released her debut album Eat The Evidence, and album opens with “Scorpio Witch”, where she seductively sings about hexing a man and letting him be her voodoo doll.
